The governor of a U.S. state that is key to a Canadian company's plan to ship oil to Texas said Tuesday he had approved a new pipeline route that avoids an environmentally sensitive region.

The company, TransCanada, praised the Nebraska governor's move, but the overall fate of the full pipeline still requires a decision by the U.S. State Department.

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman approved the new route for the Keystone XL oil pipeline to bypass the state's Sandhills region and sent a letter to President Barack Obama confirming that he would allow the controversial pipeline to proceed through his state

The original route would have run the pipeline through a region of erodible, grass-covered sand dunes. The new route skirts that area, but the pipeline's most vocal critics remain firmly opposed to it as well.

The project has faced some of its strongest resistance in Nebraska from a coalition of landowners and environmental groups who say it would contaminate the Ogallala aquifer, a massive groundwater supply.

"Governor Heineman just performed one of the biggest flip-flops that we've in Nebraska political history," said Jane Kleeb, executive director of the group Bold Nebraska.

Canadian pipeline developer TransCanada and some workers' unions say the project is safe and will create thousands of jobs.

TransCanada CEO Russ Girling said the Nebraska decision brings the United States one step closer to "enhanced energy security."

Heineman said previously that he would oppose any pipeline route through the Sandhills region. In his letter to Obama, he said the new 195-mile (320-kilometer) route through Nebraska avoids the Sandhills but would still cross part of the aquifer. Heineman said any spills would be localized, and the clean-up responsibilities would fall to TransCanada.

The governor said the project would result in $418.1 million in economic benefits for the state and $16.5 million in taxes from the pipeline construction materials.